Hawaii will be “the canary” that alerts the rest of the world to the
damaging effects of climate changes, says Andrew Hashimoto, dean and
director of the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture
and Human Resources.

“If not the canary, it will be one of the canaries,” he said in a
recent interview, referring to canaries used in the early days of
mining to detect dangerous gases.

Hawaii is most susceptible to rising seas and other effects of global
warming because it is a remote island state, Hashimoto said.

Scientists are concerned about the effects of global warming, primarily
the effects
on coastal populations. Obviously, most of the
population of Hawaii is a coastal population.